by Maya Banks
And worse, he’d bought into the fantasy as well. He’d begun to believe that they could be a family. That he’d been gifted another chance at a wife and child. That he’d finally been given hope.
He stared bleakly at the paper in his hand. The worst part was he had to have played right into her hands by offering her a settlement regardless of her child’s paternity. She won either way. And him? He’d lost everything.
Jewel clutched the printouts to her chest and hurried to Piers’s office. She knew it would hurt him to find out Eric’s fate and that Joanna had abandoned him two years ago, but the most important thing was getting Eric out of his current situation.
Nausea rose in her throat at the thought of the young boy in so many foster homes. Had he harbored the same hopes she had when she was a little girl, only to be disappointed over and over?
She didn’t knock but burst through the door, breathless from her pace. She stopped abruptly when she saw Piers sitting at his desk, a document crumpled in his hand, his expression so horrible that she nearly forgot why she’d come.
“Piers?”
He turned his cold gaze to her, and she shivered as a chill washed up her spine.
She took a step forward. “Is everything all right?”
He rose slowly with calculated precision. “Tell me, Jewel. How did you think you would get away with it? Or did you just want to prolong the truth until you had me completely wrapped around your finger?”
Her heart sank. How had he found out about Eric? Why was he so angry?
“I was on my way to tell you now. I thought you’d want to know.”
He laughed but the sound was anything but joyous. It skittered abrasively over her skin, and she shrank away from his obvious anger. Rage. That was the word for it. He vibrated with it.
“Oh yes, Jewel. I wanted to know. Preferably when this whole charade began. Did you enjoy hearing me spill my guts about Joanna and the deception she perpetrated? Did it give you satisfaction to know that yours was even more sound?”
She shook her head in confusion. What was he talking about?
“I don’t understand. Why are you so angry? And at me? I didn’t do this, Piers.”
He gaped incredulously at her. “You didn’t lie to me? You didn’t try to foist another man’s child off on me? You amaze me, Jewel. How you manage to sound the victim. The only victim here is me and the poor child you’re pregnant with.”
Hurt crashed over her, making her fold inward in a familiar defense mechanism she’d perfected over the years.
“You hate me,” she whispered.
“Are you suggesting that I could love someone like you?” he sneered.
He thrust the paper forward. “Here is the truth, Jewel. The truth you never saw fit to give me. The truth I deserved.”
She took the paper with a shaking hand, tears obscuring her vision. It took her three times to make sense of the words and when she realized what it said, she went surprisingly numb.
“This is wrong,” she said in a low voice.
Piers snorted. “You’d still keep up the pretense? It’s over, Jewel. These tests don’t lie. It states with absolute certainty that there is no chance I could be the father of your child.”
She stared up at him, tears trickling down her cheeks. He was cold. So cold. Hard. And unforgiving.
“You’ve waited for me to fall,” she choked out. “You’ve been waiting for this since the day I called you. It’s the only outcome that was acceptable to you. You weren’t going to be satisfied until you proved I was no better than Joanna.”
“You have quite a flair for dramatics.”
She scrubbed angrily at her tears, furious that she’d allowed him to make her cry. “The results are wrong, Piers. This is your child. She is your child.”
Something flickered in his eyes at her vehemence, but then he blinked, and it was gone, replaced with ice.
There would be no convincing him. He’d already tried and convicted her. She had some pride. She wouldn’t beg. She wouldn’t humiliate herself. She’d never allow him to know how shattered she was by his rejection. Or how much she loved him.
She lifted her chin and forced herself to stare evenly at him, steeling herself until she could no longer feel the shards of pain that pelted her.
“Someday you’ll regret this,” she said quietly. “One day you’ll wake up and realize that you threw away something precious. I hope, for your sake, you don’t take too long and that one day you can find the happiness you’re so determined to deny yourself and others around you.”
She turned stiffly, her heart breaking under the weight of her pain. She gripped the papers she’d intended to show Piers and held them close to her chest as she walked away. He made no effort to stop her, and she knew he wouldn’t. He’d stay here, holed up in his refuge until she’d gone.
Methodically she took the stairs to the master bedroom. She got out a suitcase and began putting her clothing inside.
“Mrs. Anetakis, is there something you need?”
Jewel turned to see the maid standing in the doorway wearing a perplexed look.
“Could you arrange for a car to take me into town?” Jewel asked. “I’ll be ready in fifteen minutes.”
“Of course.”
Jewel turned back to her packing, willing herself not to break down into more tears. She would survive this. She had survived worse.
When she had packed everything she thought she’d need, she smoothed out the papers that had all the information about Eric. No matter that she and Piers were no longer together, she couldn’t allow that child to remain in the system, unwanted and tossed from family to family.
She closed her eyes and sighed. This would be so much easier with the money and power of the Anetakis name. Slowly she opened her eyes again and frowned. She may not have the money but she did have the name. Yes, Piers had provided a settlement for her in the case of a divorce, but who knows how long it would take to lay hands on it. She needed money now. Eric couldn’t wait.
She went to her dresser and pulled out the diamond necklace and earrings Piers had given her on her wedding day. With one fingertip, she stroked the brilliant stones, remembering the way he’d fastened the necklace at her nape.
Between her engagement ring and the necklace and earrings, she should be able to raise enough cash to rent a place in Miami. But she’d need enough money to remain solvent until she would collect her settlement from Piers.
“Mrs. Anetakis, the car is ready for you.”
Jewel closed her suitcase and smiled her thanks. She looked one more time around the room she’d shared with Piers and then walked down the stairs behind the maid.
When she was settled into the car, she directed the driver to take her to the airstrip. She didn’t have time to call for Piers’s jet, though she didn’t have any qualms about using it. She had no desire to be stuck here in this place for any longer than necessary. She’d take the first flight off the island, and go to New York to see Bella and Marley and pray that they’d help her save Eric.
Eighteen
“J ewel, what on earth are you doing here?” Bella asked as she all but dragged Jewel inside the doorway. “Does Piers know you’re here? Did he come with you?”
Jewel swallowed the knot in her throat. Damn if she was going to get all weepy again.
Marley appeared behind Bella, her face soft with sympathy.
“What happened?” Marley asked.
Despite her resolve, Jewel burst into tears. Bella and Marley flanked her, each wrapping an arm around her as they guided her into Bella’s living room.
“Are Chrysander and Theron here?” she managed to ask around her sobs.
“No, and they won’t be back for a while,” Bella said soothingly. “Now sit down before you fall over. You look dead on your feet.”
Jewel perched on the edge of the couch while the other women took a seat on either side of her.
“What has that idiot brother-in-law of mine done?” Marley
asked grimly.
Jewel tried to smile through her tears at Marley’s show of loyalty. “I’m afraid he’d say it was what I’d done to him.”
Bella snorted. “With that man, I’d hardly believe that. Besides, it’s easy to see that you’re crazy in love with him.”
Jewel buried her face in her hands. “That’s just it. He believes the absolute worst of me.”
Marley put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “Tell us what happened.”
With little reluctance, Jewel spilled the entire sorry tale from start to finish, including the part about Joanna and Eric and the paternity results.
“What an idiot,” Bella said scornfully. “Did he even call the laboratory to double-check the results? Did he question them at all? Clearly there was some mix-up at the lab.”
Jewel gave her a watery smile. “Thank you for believing in me. But the thing is, he got what he was waiting for. He’s been waiting since the start for me to fall off the pedestal, so to speak. He hasn’t been able to believe in a woman since Joanna.”
“So what are you going to do?” Marley asked. “You’re in love with him.”
“But he doesn’t love me. Moreover, he doesn’t want to love me. I can’t live with someone who distrusts me as much as he distrusts me.”
“What about Eric?” Bella questioned. “Surely you won’t leave him in his current situation.”
“No,” Jewel said fiercely. “And that’s why I’ve come. I need your help.”
Marley put her hand on Jewel’s. “Anything.”
“I pawned the jewelry that Piers gave me. It’s enough to rent a small place in Miami so I can set up a permanent residence. But I’ll need enough money socked away that the state will see me as a stable, financially able parent for Eric. I won’t get a settlement from Piers until the divorce, and I have no idea how long that will take.”
Bella grinned. “The lovely thing about having my own money, is that I don’t need to rely on the Anetakis billions. No offense, Marley.”
“None taken,” Marley said dryly.
“I have some cash on hand that I can give you, and I’ll wire you more funds so that you can rent something a little better than a ‘small place’ in Miami. If small is good, then bigger is better, right?”
Jewel squeezed both women’s hands. “Thank you so much. I was so worried that you’d hate me, that you’d believe that I’d deceived Piers.”
Marley sighed. “I have a feeling that Piers is going to wake up one day and realize he’s made the worst mistake of his life. I almost wish I was there to see it.”
“Don’t feel so bad, Jewel,” Bella said soothingly. “I’m afraid all of the Anetakis men are rather dense when it comes to love.”
“So true,” Marley agreed.
“You’ll keep us posted on how things go with Eric? I’d love to meet him,” Bella said.
“Of course I will.”
“Do you have travel arrangements for your trip to Miami?” Marley asked.
Jewel shook her head. “Not yet. I’ve barely had time to breathe. I came straight here from the island.”
Bella stood, her expression one of take charge. “First things first. We’re going to go have a nice girly lunch followed by an afternoon of complete pampering at the spa. God knows you pregnant women need it. Then we’re going to arrange for a private jet to fly Jewel to Miami, and I’ll have a driver waiting there to pick her up and take her wherever she needs to go. Piers may be a dumb ass, but you’re still family.”
Jewel burst into tears again, and Bella groaned.
“Is it any wonder I have no desire to procreate? Pregnancy turns women into hormonal messes.”
Marley dabbed quickly at her eyes, and Jewel burst out laughing. Marley joined her, giggling through her tears and finally Bella joined them as well.
“Okay, enough sniffling. Let’s get out of here before the men return. I’ll leave them a note telling them I’ve taken Marley off for an afternoon of debauchery. They won’t be the least bit surprised,” Bella said with a grin.
“Promise me you’ll both visit me in Miami,” Jewel said fiercely. “I’ll miss you both terribly. I’ve always wanted a family—sisters—and I couldn’t ask for better sisters than you two.”
“Oh, I’ll visit,” Marley promised. “I’ll blame it all on Bella. It’s my standard excuse and keeps me out of trouble with Chrysander. Theron loves her so much that he’s frighteningly indulgent with her.”
“You’re both very lucky,” Jewel said wistfully.
Marley gave her a stricken look. “I’m so sorry, Jewel. That was incredibly thoughtless of me.”
“Blame it on the pregnancy,” Bella said. “Surely having a parasite inside you sucking all your brain cells has to negatively impact you sooner or later.”
Marley and Jewel both cracked up.
“You’re so delightfully irreverent,” Jewel teased. “It’s no wonder Theron loves you so.”
“Come on, let’s go, let’s go. My man radar tells me the menfolk will be home soon. The more distance we put between here and where we’re going, the less likely they’ll be able to track us down.”
They linked arms and headed out the door only to be stopped by Reynolds, Theron’s head of security.
Bella sighed and cast a baleful look in the man’s direction. “Can we count on you for a little discretion or will you break your neck reporting to Theron?”
Reynolds cleared his throat. “That will depend on where you think you’re going.”
Marley pressed forward. “What we have here, sir, is a damsel in distress. A very pregnant damsel in distress. She is in sore need of a day at the spa. You know, where we do all those frightening girly things that scare the devil out of men.”
Reynolds swallowed and paled slightly. “Well as long as it’s that and not a more inappropriate place.”
Bella glared at him as she walked by him to the car. “You’re never going to let me live down that strip club are you?”
“Strip club?” Jewel asked. “This I’ve got to hear.”
“And I’ll tell you all about it once we’re wrapped in mud from head to toe,” Bella said as they got into the car.
Bella leaned forward as Reynolds got into the front seat. “There’s one more thing, Reynolds. This is top secret stuff. You didn’t see Jewel, don’t know who she is, never saw her in your life, capiche?”
Reynolds nodded solemnly. “Who?”
Bella smiled in satisfaction and leaned back in the seat once more.
“He’s really an okay guy when he doesn’t have a corncob wedged up his arse.”
“I heard that,” Reynolds commented.
Bella grinned and winked at the other two women.
“Okay girls, a day at the spa it is. Then we’ll get Jewel to the airport and on her way to Miami.”
Piers stared broodingly into the surf, hands shoved into the pockets of his trousers—pants that he hadn’t changed out of in three days. He looked and felt like he’d been on a monthlong bender. He hadn’t showered or shaved. The staff avoided him like the plague, and when he did come into contact with them, they all glared at him with disapproving eyes. As if he’d been the one to drive her away.
And he had, in a way. He hadn’t made it easy for her to stay. No, he hadn’t asked her to leave in so many words, but what woman would stay with a man who’d been so cruel, so derisive?
He closed his eyes and inhaled the sea air that Jewel so loved. She loved the ocean like he loved her. Passionately.
Love was supposed to be without barriers or conditions. He’d never offered that to Jewel. He hadn’t even offered his unconditional support. No, he’d demanded and she’d given. He’d taken and she’d offered.
What a bastard he was.
How was she supposed to have ever been able to tell him the truth when he made it impossible for her to do so? He’d all but told her that he’d toss her out without thought if he found out she’d lied.
And the truth was he didn�
�t care.
He’d realized it the moment he’d found her gone. He didn’t care if the baby was his biological child or not. Jewel was married to him, which meant both belonged to him. He would be the baby’s father because it was what Jewel wanted. It was what he wanted.
He hadn’t loved Eric any less even knowing that he wasn’t his biological child. He already loved his daughter, and nothing would change that. He’d ruined his chance at having a family. A wife and a daughter. All because he’d been so sure Jewel was another Joanna.
Jewel was right. He’d been waiting for her to fail, for her to give him the ammunition he needed to destroy her because it beat him being destroyed a second time. She was right about another thing, and it hadn’t taken him long to realize it. He’d destroyed something very precious.
“I love you, yineka mou,” he whispered. “I don’t deserve your love, but I can give you mine. I can try to make up for the many wrongs I have done to you. Please forgive me.”
Just saying the words he’d vowed never to give another woman freed something buried deep in his soul. He breathed deeply, as past hurts fell away, carried on the wind further out to sea. He’d allowed himself to be ruled by bitterness and anger for too long. It was time to let go and embrace his future with Jewel.
He turned and strode back to the stone steps leading up to the house. He began barking orders as soon as he stepped inside. At first he was met by cold resistance, until the staff figured out what it was he was doing. Then there was a flurry of activity as everyone stumbled over themselves to provide him what information they could.
“I called a car for her to drive her into town,” one of the maids offered.
When the driver was summoned, he said he’d driven her to the small airport and carried her single bag inside.
Frustrated, Piers took the car to the airport to question the ticket agent, but not even the Anetakis name was able to yield him any results. No one would tell him what if any flight Jewel took—or to where.
Kirk.
The name shot back through his memory. Of course. She had often gone back to Kirk’s apartment when she needed a place to stay. Surely that’s where she would go. She seemed to trust this fellow, and there was genuine affection and concern between them.
He looked down in disgust. He couldn’t go anywhere looking as he did right now. He’d likely be arrested for vagrancy.
On his way back to the house, he phoned his pilot and instructed him to be fueled and ready to depart within the hour.
He was going to find Jewel and bring her and their child back where they belonged. Home.
Nineteen
P iers stood outside the San Francisco apartment and knocked. A few moments later, the door opened, but it wasn’t Jewel who stared back at him. It was Kirk.
“Is Jewel here?” Piers asked stiffly.
Kirk’s eyes narrowed. “Why would she be here? Why isn’t she with you?”
Piers closed his eyes. “I had hoped she’d come here. Do you have any idea where else she might go?” It galled him to ask for this man’s help, but to find Jewel, he’d do anything.
“You better come in and tell me what the hell is going on,” Kirk said.
Piers followed him inside and the two sat down in the living room.